On course for a place in the elite, rising star Laura Robson lives up to hype

Tell Laura we love her. A 14-year-old schoolgirl who walked from locker room to court and back again without turning a single head at the All England Club just four days ago is fast becoming the face of this year's Wimbledon.

Laura Robson even found herself accosted by groupies yesterday after reaching the girls singles semi-finals - if a swirl of 12-year-old boys asking her to autograph their T-shirts can be described as such.

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Hair we go: Laura Robson stays on the
winning path yesterday to book a place in the semi-finals

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With photographers' lenses, television cameras and the gaze of fascinated spectators trained upon her, the girl who would be British queen of these courts if hype becomes reality overcame nerves to beat Bojana Jovanovski of Serbia 7-5, 6-4.

It would be surprising if the attention did not begin to chip away at her serenity. Nothing and no one can have prepared a fresh-faced teenager for the burden of expectation that is being foisted upon her as word of her talent spreads.

Virginia Wade and Billie Jean King have peered around the edges of the court this week to check out her left-handed game that proved too strong for her 16-year-old opponent yesterday.

When Robson finally settled to her task on Court 18, Jovanovski was powerless to prevent the British girl from retrieving a 3-0 deficit in the first set with groundstrokes that were crisper and more accurate than the ninth seed could muster.

Even when she surrendered her serve at the beginning of the second set, there was an inevitability about the outcome, just as there is about her career path from junior to senior ranks.

Carl Maes, head of British women's tennis and the man who guided the early career of former world No 1 Kim Clijsters, sees a route for Robson that involves playing main tour events by the end of 2009.

By inference, unless she is given wildcard entries, it means that a top 100 ranking is envisaged along much the same timescale.

Maes said: 'I was full-time with Kim when she was 14 and I travelled extensively with Justine Henin when she was 14. Laura plays that level of tennis. But she needs to keep on making the jumps she has in the last six months.

'When she makes the step to the senior game she has to progress quite quickly through it. It is not unrealistic that she could be playing some low-level WTA events at the back end of next year - if she keeps progressing as she is now.

'But the nicest thing for Laura would be that we can leave her alone for the next six months so that she doesn't start walking with her head in the clouds.

'Her coach Martijn Bok and Steve Kotze, her fitness trainer, allow her to be a 14-year-old girl but it will tricky from now on. When Kim was 14, I was driving her around Europe in my Vauxhall Corsa and nobody had a clue who this young Belgian girl was. That's not the case with Laura.'

For all the praise and encouragement being lavished, it is what is not being said that is most significant.

End of the road: Naomi Broady heads
for defeat in yesterday's quarter-final

The great and the good - coaches within British tennis and outside the system - recognise a talent that could take Robson into the world's top 10 within four years. Robson's Australian parents, Kathy and Andrew, are already well aware they have groomed a special daughter.

Kathy said: 'I hope we can see her playing on Centre Court one day. That's her dream, what she wants. We're just along for the journey.'

Robson, however, is discovering the implications of having her matches shown on the BBC.

She said: 'Yesterday I made a comment which I shouldn't have about how I thought one of the umpires wasn't really seeing that well. I got a couple of texts after the match saying: "Laura, I don't think you should have said that." I have to watch what I say more.'

Sadly, Robson, who was beaten in the girls doubles first round yesterday, will not be joined in the semi-finals by Naomi Broady.

The 18-year-old who had her LTA funding withdrawn after making ill-advised boasts about her social exploits on a website, was defeated 6-7, 6-3, 6-4 by Noppawan Lertcheewakarn of Thailand.